Joe Joyce vs Zhilei Zhang

Joe Joyce vs Zhilei Zhang was a series of two professional boxing matches at heavyweight contested between Joe Joyce, and Zhilei Zhang for the WBO interim championship.[1][2]

The bouts both took place in London, England. The first bout was held at the Copper Box Arena in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on 15 April 2023.[1][2] The second bout was held at Wembley Arena on 23 September 2023.

Background

Joe Joyce won the WBO Interim World Heavyweight title in a September 2022 bout against Joseph Parker.[1] Zhang's last bout before facing Joyce was in August 2022 when he suffered his first loss to Croatian Filip Hrgović.[1]

Initial bout
Joe Joyce vs Zhilei Zhang
Date15 April 2023
VenueCopper Box Arena, London, England
Title(s) on the lineWBO interim heavyweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Joe Joyce Zhilei Zhang
Nickname Juggernaut Big Bang
Hometown London, England Zhoukou, Henan, China
Pre-fight record 15–0 (14 KOs) 24–1–1 (19 KOs)
Age 37 39
Height 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) 6 ft 6 in (198 cm)
Weight 255.7 lb (116 kg) 271.6 lb (123 kg)
Style Orthodox Southpaw
Recognition WBO interim heavyweight champion Former WBO Oriental heavyweight champion
Result
Zhilei Zhang defeated Joe Joyce Via Round 6 TKO.

Zhang defeated Joyce via technical knockout in the six round and won the WBO interim heavyweight title.[3]

Fight card

Source:[4]

Weight Class vs. Method Round Time Notes
Heavyweight Zhilei Zhang def. Joe Joyce (c) TKO 6/12 1:23 Note 1
Lightweight Mikaela Mayer def. Lucy Wildheart UD 10 Note 2
Heavyweight Moses Itauma def. Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko UD 6
Lightweight Sam Noakes (c) def. Karthik Sathish TKO 2/12 1:17 Note 3
Middleweight Denzel Bentley def. Kieran Smith KO 1/12 0:45 Note 4
Welterweight Eithan James def. Georgi Velichkov PTS 6
Super-lightweight Sonny Ali def. Richard Helm PTS 6
Light-heavyweight Seth Gyimah def. Darryl Sharp PTS 4
Middleweight Joel Kodua def. Dale Arrowsmith PTS 4

^Note 1 For WBO interim heavyweight title
^Note 2 For vacant WBC interim lightweight title
^Note 3 For Commonwealth Boxing Council and WBC International Silver lightweight titles
^Note 4 For British middleweight title

Aftermath

Following Zhang's victory, reports stated that a bout between himself and Tyson Fury were being discussed.[5] On 29 June an immediate rematch was announced for 23 September at Wembley Arena in London, England for the same title.[6] Tyson Fury took to social media to offer Joyce sparring following the announcement.[7]

Rematch
An Eye for An Eye
Date23 September 2023
VenueWembley Arena, London, England
Title(s) on the lineWBO interim heavyweight title
Tale of the tape
Boxer Zhilei Zhang Joe Joyce
Nickname Big Bang Juggernaut
Hometown Zhoukou, Henan, China London, England
Pre-fight record 25–1–1 (20 KOs) 15–1 (14 KOs)
Age 40 38
Height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)[8] 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)[9]
Style Orthodox Orthodox
Recognition WBO interim heavyweight champhion
Result
Zhilei Zhang defeated Joe Joyce via Round 3 KO.

The rematch for the title took place at Wembley Arena on 23 September. Zhang retained his interim heavyweight title and defeated Joyce in the third round via knockout.[10]

Fight card
Weight class vs Method Round Time Notes
Main Card
Heavyweight Zhilei Zhang def Joe Joyce KO 3 (12) 3:07 Note 1
Super lightweight Pierce O'Leary def Kane Gardner UD 10 Note 2
Light heavyweight Anthony Yarde def Jorge Silva KO 2 (10) 2:07
Super middleweight Zach Parker def Khalid Graidia RTD 7 (10) 3:00
Light heavyweight Ezra Taylor def Joel McIntyre TKO 8 (8) 2:59
Heavyweight Moses Itauma def Amine Boucetta TKO 1 (6) 1:33
Super featherweight Royston Barney-Smith def Engel Gomez PTS 6
Cruiserweight Aloys Youmbi def Erik Nazaryan KO 1 (6) 0:38
Cruiserweight Tommy Fletcher def Alberto Tapia TKO 6 (6) 1:28
Welterweight Sean Noakes def Lukasz Barabasz PTS 6 1:28

^Note 1 For WBO interim heavyweight title
^Note 2 For WBC International Super Light Title

References
  1. "The Juggernaut returns: WBO interim champ Joyce faces Zhang on April 15". BT.com.
  2. "'I heat up my opponents...' - Joe Joyce engages in hilariously awkward trash-talk". 3 February 2023.
  3. Sajad, Kal (15 April 2023). "Joe Joyce v Zhilei Zhang: British heavyweight suffers first career loss in shock defeat". BBC.
  4. "Joe Joyce vs Zhilei Zhang: Date, venue, titles, tickets and pro records for boxing showdown". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  5. "Tyson Fury could be offered lucrative fight against Zhilei Zhang who is now 'a superstar in China'". Sky Sports. 22 April 2023.
  6. "Joe Joyce to rematch Zhilei Zhang on September 23 following first professional defeat". Sky Sports. 29 June 2023.
  7. Ferguson, Kerr (30 June 2023). "Tyson Fury Offers Joe Joyce The 'Secret' To Beat Zhang For A Hefty Price". Boxing Social.
  8. "BoxRec: Zhilei Zang". BoxRec. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  9. "BoxRec: Joe Joyce". BoxRec. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  10. "Relive Zhang's dramatic win over Joyce in rematch". BBC Sport. 22 September 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.


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